Korean Mid-Autumn Festival(Chuseok)
On August 15th of the lunar calendar, The Mid-Autumn Festival is the day when the fragrant laurels and families reunite to celebrate. The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important traditional festivals in Korea. It also has the “Chuseok(추석)”, where the whole family is reunited and the ancestors are worshipped. Its “status” can be said to be the same as the Korean Spring Festival, even more grand, symbolizing harvest and gratitude. In this article, Ziptoss has made a quick guide for foreigners to understand the traditions of the Mid- Autumn Festival.
The Korean Mid-Autumn Festival in Korea today lasts for 3 days, and it is often connected to the weekend to have a holiday of 5 days. People usually go home to visit relatives. Many people who have worked hard in Seoul or have already established a family will go back to their hometown to visit relatives and reunite with relatives during the Mid-Autumn Festival. This also forms the phenomenon called the “Little Spring Festival”.
In the month before the Mid-Autumn Festival, high-speed rail tickets will be “hard to find”, and on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, in addition to the lively trains and bus stations, the expressway is also a lively peak for returning home. Therefore, the lively markets will become deserted, and many businesses have put up the “Mid-Autumn Festival Holiday” signs. However, in recent years, many businesses still open on the Mid-Autumn Festival, and some will hold some events on the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Activity
Due to the pandemic this year, the South Korean government recommends that people reduce Mid-Autumn Festival holiday traditions in Korea like gathering activities, abide by the health protocols, and highway tolls will also be charged. Many South Koreans said that they plan not to go back home to visit relatives for the time being.
Gifts
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches in South Korea, supermarkets, department stores, and even convenience stores will prepare Mid-Autumn Festival gift boxes. Popular gifts include fruits, shampoo, luncheon meat, cooking oil, seaweed, etc., as well as store discount coupons that can be used as cash.
Traditional food
The common Korean traditional food such as Korean pancakes and muffins(songpyeon) are a staple of the Korean Mid-Autumn Festival, which is equivalent to mooncakes in China. The muffin is made of japonica rice flour, with red beans, chestnuts, sesame seeds, peanuts, etc., and pine needles are placed when steaming for aroma. Muffins are also one of the gifts for offering sacrifices to relatives and friends.